1. Field of the Invention
The present technology relates generally to cleaning gas flows using an electrostatic precipitator and particularly to collector assemblies with open-cell structures.
2. Description of the Related Technology
The most common types of residential or commercial HVAC filters employ a fibrous filter media (made from polyester fibers, glass fibers or microfibers, etc.) placed substantially perpendicular to the airflow through which air may pass (e.g., an air conditioner filter, a HEPA filter, etc.) such that particles are removed from the air mechanically (coming into contact with one or more fibers and either adhering to or being blocked by the fibers); some of these filters are also electrostatically charged (either passively during use, or actively during manufacture) to increase the chances of particles coming into contact and staying adhered to the fibers.
Fibrous media filters typically have to be cleaned and/or replaced regularly due to an accumulation of particles. Furthermore, fibrous media filters are placed substantially perpendicular to the airflow, increasing airflow resistance and causing a significant static pressure differential across the filter, which increases as more particles accumulate or collect in the filter. Pressure drop across various components of an HVAC system is a constant concern for designers and operators of mechanical air systems, since it either slows the airflow or increases the amount of energy required to move the air through the system. Accordingly, there exists a need for an air filter capable of relatively long intervals between cleaning and/or replacement and a relatively low pressure drop across the filter after installation in an HVAC system.
Another form of air filter is known as an electrostatic precipitator. A conventional electrostatic precipitator includes one or more corona electrodes and one or more smooth metal electrode plates that are substantially parallel to the airflow. The corona electrodes produce a corona discharge that ionizes air molecules in an airflow received into the filter. The ionized air molecules impart a net charge to nearby particles (e.g., dust, dirt, contaminants etc.) in the airflow. The charged particles are subsequently electrostatically attracted to one of the electrode plates and thereby removed from the airflow as the air moves past the electrode plates. After a sufficient amount of air passes through the filter, the electrodes can accumulate a layer of particles and dust and eventually need to be cleaned. Cleaning intervals may vary from, for example, thirty minutes to several days to several months. Further, since the particles are on an outer surface of the electrodes, they may become re-entrained in the airflow since a force of the airflow may exceed the electric force attracting the charged particles to the electrodes, especially if many particles agglomerate through attraction to each other, thereby reducing the net attraction to the collector plate. There are other sources that may cause particle re-entrainment as well, such as strong airflow, vibrations, and spark discharging. Such agglomeration and re-entrainment may require use of a media filter that is placed substantially perpendicular to the airflow, thereby increasing airflow resistance.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/401,082 filed on 15 May 2013 and published 21 Nov. 2013, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein shows an electrostatic precipitator with improved performance. An article by Wen, T.; Wang, H.; Krichtafovitch, I.; and Mamishev, A. entitled Novel Electrodes of an Electrostatic Precipitator for Air Filtration, submitted to the Journal of Electrostatics, Nov. 12, 2014, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, presents working principles of electrostatic precipitators and provides a discussion on the design concepts and schematics of a foam-covered ESP. The collector electrodes in the electrostatic precipitator described therein may be covered with porous foam. Electrostatic precipitators with foam-covered electrodes have improved capacity for particle collection, due in part, to the increased surface area of foam over metal collector plates and improved filtration efficiency because the effect of particle reentrainment is reduced. Nevertheless, foam-covered electrostatic precipitators described in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/401,082 would have even better performance in some environments, particularly very dusty areas, if the collection capacity were increased thereby reducing the frequency of foam collector cleaning or replacement.